Associated Press file
Former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce, center, is shown with then-Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel and then-Florida coach Urban Meyer on Jan. 7, 2007, the day before Meyer's Gators defeated the Buckeyes in the national championship game.

"(Athletic Director) Rick Bay was leaned up against the wall and looked at me and said, 'Close the door. Are you the last one?' " Meyer recalled. "I said, 'Yes, sir,' and I sat down."

Across from him were members of the Bruce's coaching staff. Some had their arms on the table, others had their faces in their arms. Many, if not most, had tears in their eyes.

Then Bay delivered the news.

"He said that Coach Bruce will no longer be the coach after this game," Meyer recalled, "and (Bay had) resigned as athletic director.

"Like it was right there," Meyer continued, pointing to the office that was once Bruce's. "Right out that door."

The news hit Meyer hard. Bruce had taken the youngster from Ashtabula under his wing as a mentor and father figure -- a role Bruce still holds today.

A handful of days later, Meyer was in the press box -- where he normally spent game day performing his duties. There he witnessed something that will forever be chiseled into his mind, his heart and the lore of Ohio State football history.

Wearing white headbands with the word "Earle" written on them, the Buckeyes hoisted their beloved coach on their shoulders following a 23-20 victory and carried Bruce off the field.

"One of the great memories that I have of my time here," Meyer said with a smile and a glimmer in his eyes.

Meyer hopes to add another positive, vivid memory Saturday, when he leads Ohio State (11-0) into battle against rival Michigan (8-3) for a noon kickoff.

There are reminders all around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, from signs in the players-only area to the official Michigan Game countdown clock in the locker room.

But no one -- not Meyer, nor any of the players interviewed on Monday -- said the word "Michigan." The Wolverines were simply referred to as "that team up north."

Even the "M" in the word "Complex" was X'd out on the sign out front welcoming people to the football facility.

"It's electric in here when you start talking about this game," Meyer said.

In one sense, little rides on Saturday's game. The Buckeyes (7-0) have already wrapped up the Leaders Division title. And because of NCAA sanctions, Ohio State isn't eligible for the postseason, whether it be the conference championship game or a bowl game.

On the other hand, the game means everything. An undefeated season is on the line and, well, it's Michigan.

"Will we be defined by this one game? You usually are," Meyer said, accentuating the importance of Saturday's game. "Regardless of what happens, this is the game. Our kids know that."

So do Ohio State's coaches. Meyer said he made sure of it when he interviewed and hired for the spots on his coaching staff.

Meyer wanted everyone on his staff to know Ohio State-Michigan wasn't just any other game. He said eight of the nine coaches on his staff have Ohio ties and know the importance of the rivalry.

The campus is already abuzz with Ohio State-Michigan fever. The annual Mirror Lake jump was held Sunday night, a pep rally was held Monday night in which the Buckeyes unveiled their retro uniforms designed by Nike that they'll wear for the game, and the historic Senior Tackle will be held Thursday at the team's final practice heading into the Michigan game.

The rivalry is as hot as ever.

"It's all I knew (growing up)," Meyer said of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. "It's all anybody knew."

Growing up in Ashtabula, Meyer said there were only three television channels -- but must-see TV was the OSU-Michigan game.

"It was Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Pete Johnson, Archie Griffin," Meyer said, rattling off some of the historic names in the rivalry.

And Earle Bruce, the confidant who earlier this week ran into his protege in the hallway just outside the office in which he was fired 25 years ago.

Meyer said Bruce formed a fist and delivered an upper-cut motion in reference to the Wolverines and what the former coach wants Meyer and his team to do this weekend.

"An 82-year old reminds me," Meyer said. "I get one of those almost every day when I see him. It's good. It's a reminder."